Director promotion at Dacres
Matthew Brear has been promoted to director of land and development at Yorkshire property firm, Dacre, Son & Hartley.
Matthew joined Dacres’ Land Agency team almost 12 years ago and now specialises in residential land and development work, acting on behalf of an extensive range of landowners including NHS trusts, property companies and private individuals.
He now promotes and markets all types of land opportunities from single plot sales through to large scale sites that form strategic urban extensions.
In recent years Matthew has overseen the sale of land to facilitate the development of more than 750 new homes, as well as negotiating a number of longer-term strategic agreements on land to come forward for future development, throughout Yorkshire and beyond.
Matthew is also involved in selling, acquiring and letting all types of commercial property, on behalf of both tenants and landlords.
Matthew said: “This promotion is an exciting opportunity to continue building on Dacre, Son & Hartley’s reputation in the land and new homes development sector, at a time when there is lots of growth potential in the market.
“We’re currently seeing plenty of appetite from both national and regional housebuilders for development sites in sought-after locations and our ability to offer accurate appraisals and successful marketing and disposal services is proving key to our success in this area.”
Head of Dacres Commercial, David Ogilvie, said: “Matthew has established a strong track record for successfully marketing development sites of all sizes throughout the region and has worked hard to foster strong relationships with numerous housebuilders. He thoroughly deserves this promotion and we’re looking forward to seeing him continuing to grow this side of our business.”
Green light for 600,000 sq ft sustainable employment development
Opus North and Bridges Fund Management (Bridges) have secured planning permission from Harrogate Borough Council for the Harrogate 47 sustainable employment development, which will deliver over 600,000 square feet of employment space on a 45-acre site near Harrogate. The new development has the potential to support 2,000 jobs.
In October 2020 Opus North and Bridges acquired the strategic site, located at J47 of the A1(M) in North Yorkshire, with existing planning consent for over 600,000 square feet of development for employment uses.
The latest planning approval gives the green light for a revised masterplan incorporating a BREEAM ‘Excellent’, low-carbon development with over 600,000 square feet of employment space for office, hi-tech/hybrid and logistics uses, as well as amenity uses, within a well-landscaped environment.
Harrogate 47 has been designed with ESG at the forefront of the development agenda. Key features of the new masterplan were a high-quality design response to the site’s setting, incorporating sustainable features where possible to create a safe and attractive environment for future employees.
The development team has appointed contractor GMI to commence delivery of enabling and infrastructure works with immediate effect which will see the development take shape this year.
Ryan Unsworth, development director of Opus North, said: “This development is key for the Harrogate and wider North Yorkshire economy due to its capacity to transform vacant land into office and industrial space for local, regional and national occupiers, and the vast job-creating potential it has.
“The delivery of Harrogate 47 will allow local companies to expand and grow within the region in addition to attracting inward investment into the district and we are delighted that its potential has been recognised through the positive planning outcome.”
Guy Bowden, partner at Bridges Fund Management, said: “Harrogate 47 will support the growth of the local economy by addressing the regional shortages of prime accommodation for key growth sectors like logistics, creative and digital.
“It will also incorporate some best-in-class sustainability features, building on our longstanding experience of sustainable development across the UK. We are delighted to have been granted consent and look forward to seeing the units take shape this year.”
Oliver Freer from CBRE’s Northern Planning Team, who prepared the planning application, said: “This is an excellent result for Opus and Bridges. Harrogate 47 is an important strategic employment site that will provide high-quality accommodation for businesses, that will make a significant contribution to both the local and regional economies.”
Appointed industrial agents for Harrogate 47 are CBRE and Gent Visick, with the office enquiries directed to the office agency teams at CBRE and Knight Frank.
Employing for the first time – Streets Chartered Accountants
There are a multitude of rules and regulations that you must be aware of when you start employing staff for the first time, as Streets Chartered Accountants details below.
HMRC’s guidance sets out important issues to be aware of when becoming an employer.
- Decide how much to pay someone – you must pay your employee at least the National Minimum Wage.
- Check if someone has the legal right to work in the UK. You may have to do other employment checks as well.
- Check if you need to apply for a DBS check (formerly known as a CRB check) if you work in a field that requires one, e.g. with vulnerable people or security.
- Get employment insurance – you need employers’ liability insurance as soon as you become an employer.
- Send details of the job (including terms and conditions) in writing to your employee. You need to give your employee a written statement of employment if you’re employing someone for more than 1 month.
- Ensure that you register as an employer with HMRC. You can do this up to 4 weeks before you pay your new staff. This process must also be completed by directors of a limited company who employ themselves to work in the company.
- Check if you need to automatically enrol your staff into a workplace pension scheme.
The Property & Business Investment Lincolnshire Expo: a great day of networking and business generation
Taking place on Wednesday 27 April 2022 at The Bentley Hotel, Lincoln register now for the free to attend Property & Business Investment Lincolnshire Expo.
Business Link is a proud partner of the event which provides everything you require for a great day of networking and business generation.
The Property & Business Investment Lincolnshire Expo is a well targeted event aimed at the Construction, Property, Business, Investment, Finance, Professional Services and related B2B markets.
The event, which will open at 9am, will also host a seminar and as the exhibition closes it will roll directly into an informal, open buffet style network lunch – tickets are just £25 plus vat and can be ordered and paid for directly online.
Spaces for the lunch are limited, so order as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.
To attend the event, register for free here.
To generate opportunities by exhibiting at the event, click here.
Purchase tickets to the networking lunch here.
Meet more potential clients in one amazing cost effective day, than it would take months out on the road. Tina King, of Business Shows Group, said: “It’s been a long time in the making thanks to the pandemic, but we are finally nearly there, The Property & Business Investment Lincolnshire Expo is gearing up to be one of the best to date!” To see who is exhibiting at the event click here.Whitby firm receives £180k grant to help tackle antibiotic resistance
Whitby-based company Natures Laboratory has just received a major funding award worth over £180k from Innovate UK to develop new ways in which propolis – a natural antibiotic produced by bees – can be used to help meet the worldwide crisis in antibiotic resistance.
WHO (World Health Organisation) put antibiotic resistance in its top ten global public health threats. The harsh reality is that the drugs don’t work anymore. We are now facing infections where no antibiotics can help.
Propolis is made from resins which the bees collect from trees and plants. They take the resins back to the hive, process them through their enzymatic system and then combine them with wax. They use propolis (which comes from the Greek meaning ‘Defender of the City’) to seal up the hive against infection making the beehive one of the most sterile environments known to man.
Research since the end of WW2 has shown that propolis has antibiotic, anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal and anti-tumoral properties. For the beehive, propolis is its immune defence mechanism and according to Natures Laboratory’s CEO James Fearnley it does just the same for us humans: “Natures Laboratory has been researching the role of propolis as a medicine for over 30 years.
“I feel that our work has for years been like a candle burning in the bright sunlight – nobody recognised its light. But as the problem of antibiotic resistance has grown bigger and darker we are beginning to be seen as a real and potential help for what has seemed like an increasingly dangerous, global and insoluble problem.
“We have known about the anti-microbial activity of propolis since the 1940’s and our own research in 1998 at University of Oxford confirmed this. During the last 30 years we have, with our university research colleagues in this country and round the world, published over 30 scientific reports about propolis and have made some remarkable discoveries.
“Our most dramatic discovery came just over a year ago during the COVID lockdown in work we are funding at Leeds Beckett University. We discovered that if you combine propolis with antibiotics that have effectively stopped working (like penicillium) they start working again. Exactly why and how this works we are still working on but obviously the potential benefits of combining antibiotics and propolis are enormous.
“This new Innovate UK Award will help us to build on this work. The Award will fund a two-year project working with Department of Pharmacological Engineering Science at the University of Bradford. We will explore how we can use cutting edge science to develop products locally that can make a real and lasting contribution to a global problem. This is a fantastic opportunity and a validation of 30 years of research work.
“The Award comes at a fantastic time for us having just launched the 4th International Conference of the IPRG (International Propolis Research Group) which I started in 2016 and which last year presented 39 scientific papers on the properties of propolis and attracted over 400 participants from every corner of the world.”
Helmsley Group appoints new shareholder and director
Helmsley Group, the York-based property investment and development specialist, has announced that director Ed Harrowsmith has become a shareholder in the business.
Having served as a board director for the last three years, Ed has now taken a stake in the business with increased responsibilities including business strategy.
He will continue to lead the expansion of the company’s £200m syndicated investment portfolio and will also take on an enhanced role growing Helmsley’s investor base of more than 800 high-net-worth individuals.
Helmsley has also promoted Tom Boyle to the board as a director. Tom, who has been with Helmsley for the past seven years, also becomes the group’s Head of Finance.
Richard Peak, managing director at Helmsley Group, said: “Since joining Helmsley, both Ed and Tom have been instrumental in our continued success. Ed has been a key factor in driving the growth of our clients’ investment portfolios and has made a major contribution to the business to date.
“He has already served the board with distinction, with his values very much matching our own. His further investment in the business is hugely merited and bodes well for our ongoing success.
“Tom, alongside our other finance team members, has played a key role, particularly over the past two years as we have navigated our way through the Covid-19 pandemic. His promotion to the board is just reward for his skill, hard work and dedication.
“As we now see confidence in the market return, I can think of no better people than Ed and Tom to help lead us into this next exciting chapter for the business.”
Commenting on his new role, Ed Harrowsmith, syndicated property director at Helmsley Group, said: “The decision to invest in the business was a simple one. Having been in operation for 42 years, Helmsley has an exceptional reputation across Yorkshire and beyond.
“With the current opportunities for growth demonstrated by our recent high street acquisition strategy, it is an opportune time and a privilege to make a further commitment to the Helmsley business.
“I’m excited to take this next step as we look to grow the syndicated property team over the coming months and to continue to grow our investor base through bringing forward opportunities for them to achieve steady return on investment with future capital appreciation.”
Tom Boyle, head of finance at Helmsley Group, said: “Having been a part of the Helmsley team for a number of years I’m looking forward to taking the next step in my career.
“Following growth within the Helmsley team and a number of recent high-profile property acquisitions within Yorkshire, it’s a really exciting time for not only Helmsley, but also our investor base. I’m looking forward to the future as we drive forward our regeneration and investment strategy across Yorkshire and beyond.”
Located at Monk’s Cross, York and operating across the UK, Helmsley Group offers commercial property syndication, development finance and property development services.
Communications firm doubles footprint in Huddersfield
Specialist communications firm Scriba PR has upgraded its West Yorkshire premises by adding an additional 984 sq ft of real estate – and completing a full fit-out of its Huddersfield HQ.
Following a steady stream of recruitment throughout 2021 – and with more new faces set to join in the coming weeks – the team had outgrown its existing space and needed additional room to carry out some of the more creative elements of its work.
Almost doubling its space overnight, B2B media outfit Scriba PR has extended its existing 1,200 sq ft office within Heritage Exchange, Lindley, to encompass an adjacent suite in the loft of the historic mill – taking the footprint to 2,184 sq ft.
Now leasing the entirety of the third-floor commercial offices on the eastern flank of the property, the extension features a large meeting area, dedicated ‘quiet room’ for solo work, and a relaxed breakout space for socialising and creative thinking.
The vision of Scriba founder and Managing Director Katie Mallinson, refurbishment work has been overseen by The Man Who Makes. Owned by local craftsman Steve McMann, the company also designed and built a range of bespoke furniture for the new office, including a bespoke meeting room table, stand up desk, shelving and storage, room divides, biophilic wall art, and corner worktops.
“Our team has grown rapidly since we last upsized our environment, in 2019,” explained Katie. “Post-pandemic, we quickly reached capacity in terms of both desk and meeting space – as well as wanting to recreate some of the more relaxed areas our colleagues had become accustomed to following 18 months of home-working.
“The nature of our business means we could be building a commercially-focused communications strategy one minute and creating some visually impactful social media content the next – and it’s important to have the right surroundings, allowing us to effectively work on each element of what we do. So, we spoke to Heritage about our dream, and they helped make it happen.
“This extension of our footprint gives the entire team enough room to gather around a table, while also offering different zones for people to carry out the various parts of their role – after all, with 14 colleagues, and counting, everyone has a preferred way of working depending on the task at hand. Some prefer quiet, uninterrupted time, while others thrive in the bustle of a creative HQ – now, there truly is a place to work which suits everyone.”
Krystina Firth, manager of Heritage Exchange, added: “It’s been a great pleasure to watch Scriba grow within our business centre. From Katie’s initial move into a two-person office in September 2014 to now occupying the full top floor of our Plover Road offices, we have loved working with the entire team to create beautiful interiors that complement the history of the building. Scriba has gone from strength to strength, which is testament to the hard work and ethos of Katie and her team – and we are proud to work alongside them.”
Hat trick for Clarion in ‘100 Best Companies to work for’ as it is ranked 2nd in the whole of the UK
Having again achieved a three star accreditation in the prestigious UK’s 100 Best Companies to Work For scheme, Clarion has announced an impressive hat trick – it has been revealed that in the first quarter of 2022, the Leeds law firm was recognised as the top company in Yorkshire to work for, it took number one spot as the best law firm to work for in the whole country and it was also ranked second overall out of all the entrants in the large company category from across the entire UK.
The UK’s 100 Best Companies to Work For (formerly The Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For), awarded the accolades to Clarion due to the ‘world-class employee engagement’ of its 288-strong team.
Joint managing partner Roger Hutton said: “We are immensely proud to have received this national recognition of our success in creating a place where people know they are valued and really feel they belong. Our unique Clarion culture is at the heart of everything we do – without it, we could not attract or retain the best talent, or ensure that they share our commitment to providing the highest levels of service to our clients.
“From the beginning, building a firm which recognises and supports colleagues has been central to our vision – if people are happy at work, they perform better and also communicate that positivity to one another and to clients. This has shone through during recent difficult times with colleagues seamlessly adjusting to rapidly changing circumstances, but continuing to work together as a cohesive team. I would like to thank every one of them for helping us to reach this achievement – to be ranked No 2 in the entire country as the best large company in which to work, is simply amazing.”
A standard of excellence for UK businesses, the initiative assesses workplace engagement and measures it against the rigorous Best Companies Index score, which covers factors such as leadership, wellbeing and personal growth, in order to celebrate and showcase outstanding employers.
Head of HR Helen Saunders added: “From implementing excellent communications with two-way listening to supporting colleagues’ career development, at Clarion every internal touch point is carefully considered to ensure we live our values. Having established the solid foundations of such a positive culture, we are proving able to share this with new members of the team as we continue to grow the Clarion family.”
With a turnover of almost £23m and 30 partners, Clarion has continued to achieve high levels of employee engagement and strong colleague retention. Its supportive culture is demonstrated in many ways including by excellent communications, innovative CSR activities with community partners, the provision of mentoring and coaching opportunities to support career development, regular employee engagement surveys and its award-winning BeingWell programme.
Derby-based healthcare services provider to acquire Sheffield firm in £13m deal
Totally plc, a Derby-based provider of frontline healthcare services, corporate fitness and wellbeing services, has entered into an agreement to acquire Sheffield-based Pioneer Health Care Limited, an established independent provider of specialist NHS secondary care services.
The total consideration for the acquisition is up to £13 million, on a cash-free and debt-free basis. The consideration is to be paid 80% in cash and the remaining 20% will be satisfied by the issue of new ordinary shares in Totally. £6.9 million is payable on completion, on a cash-free and debt-free basis, and up to £6.1 million is payable on a deferred basis, based on the financial performance of Pioneer in the year ending 31 March 2022.
Pioneer Healthcare delivers insourcing and outsourcing services across a wide range of surgical and medical specialities to NHS patients and holds contracts with NHS Foundation Trusts and Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs), predominantly across the North of England.
Pioneer also holds the difficult-to-acquire Any Qualified Provider (AQP) status, which enables it to offer services direct to NHS patients across the whole of England, free at the point of delivery, where there is sufficient demand.
The business is led by three experienced, senior NHS consultants, Mr Hesham Zaki, Professor Prasad Godbole and Mr John McMullan, who are well recognised in their chosen fields, and will continue to hold senior leadership roles within the business following the acquisition.
Pioneer Healthcare and Totally Healthcare, which forms Totally’s Insourcing division, will be brought together to create a single, established, provider of insourcing and outsourcing services under the Pioneer brand.
The acquisition is the company’s second in three months and supports the Board’s buy and build strategy, utilising the substantial cash balances held by the company to strengthen its service proposition and bring further earnings-enhancing opportunities to the Group.
Wendy Lawrence, Chief Executive Officer of Totally, said: “We are delighted to welcome Pioneer Healthcare into the Totally Group. This is Totally’s second acquisition in three months, demonstrating our commitment to growing the business, delivering enhanced shareholder value through our ‘buy and build’ strategy and moving into areas where we know demand for services is outstripping current capacity.
“The acquisition creates new opportunities for the Group and will ensure we can continue giving vital support to the NHS as it recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Pioneer’s services closely complement those provided by Totally Healthcare. The combined insourcing and outsourcing business will benefit from its stronger footprint across the UK and Ireland and the additional significant experience of the Pioneer leadership team. Pioneer has an excellent reputation in the market and we look forward delivering on the undeniable potential that is available to the combined business.”
Environment Minister Rebecca Pow visits largest water infrastructure project in a generation at crucial halfway point
Rebecca Pow, Environment Minister, and Caroline Johnson, MP for Sleaford and North Hykeham, today visited Lincoln to mark an important milestone for the region’s Strategic Pipeline Alliance (SPA): the largest water infrastructure project the UK has seen for a generation.
Minister Pow visited the site as engineers completed the first half of the 24km pipeline between Lincoln and Ancaster. This is just one section of the project which, in total, will create hundreds of kilometres of interconnecting pipelines to address water scarcity across the east of England.
During the visit, Minister Pow spoke to the engineers onsite and also heard from beneficiaries of the Government’s Kickstart scheme, which delivers funding and employment for 16-24-year-olds who are currently in receipt of Universal Credit.
So far, Anglian Water has provided opportunities for 14 young people across this infrastructure project – 9 apprentices and 5 on a Kickstarter scheme, three of who have since been offered full-time employment.
SPA will be crucial in addressing the future imbalance of water availability in the region, where an estimated water deficit of 30 million litres a day could be expected by 2025. It forms part of Anglian Water’s Water Resources Management Plan, which looks 25 years ahead to make the East resilient to drought.
SPA will create the ability to move water in stages from wetter parts of North Lincolnshire to the south and east of the region. The new pipeline will also strengthen local resilience as the population continues to grow, by reducing the number of homes and businesses which rely on a single water source.
The entire pipeline has also been designed to have the lowest carbon footprint possible in line with Anglian Water’s pledge to reach net zero carbon by 2030.
What’s more, sections of the pipeline have also been specifically designed to bypass sensitive ecological sites where environmental surveys have found protected species like badgers, water voles, bats and Great Crested Newts.
Environment Minister Rebecca Pow said: “The Strategic Pipeline Alliance project highlights the important role of innovation in enhancing our national water infrastructure which is progressing well and I was very pleased to have a detailed visit to discuss it. This project will help rebalance the availability of water across the region and benefit the local community while also crucially protecting our precious natural environment.”
Strategic Pipeline Alliance Director for Anglian Water, James Crompton said: “We are grateful to the Minister for taking the time to meet with us today. The Strategic Pipeline Alliance will be vital in addressing the predicted ‘jaws of death’ moment for water availability in the East of England – the point at which demand for water greatly outstrips the available supply, and we are delighted to have the opportunity to discuss with the Minister our vision for future water sustainability across the region.
“Our commitment to protecting the environment is as vital as securing customer supplies. This project will help meet our targets to reduce the amount of water we take from the environment by 84 million litres a day, but our infrastructure needs to be sustainable too.
“Climate change isn’t just a risk in terms of the challenges it poses us. It is also an opportunity to challenge established practice and to do things differently and more efficiently, for wider gain. This scheme is an excellent example of how we’re doing both for the long-term benefit of our region.”
MP Caroline Johnson for Sleaford and North Hykeham said: “I was delighted to visit Harmston near Lincoln with Minister Rebecca Pow today to discuss the progress of the Strategic Pipeline Alliance. I welcome that the installation of the pipeline will improve water availability throughout Lincolnshire and the wider East of England, and I enjoyed learning how this important scheme is also protecting our natural surroundings.”
